Hammel booted from Rox rotation, White gets nod

Jason Hammel has been dropped from Colorado's starting rotation in lieu of Alex White, the team announced Saturday.

Hammel's demotion is unsurprising, as the 28-year-old's wheels have fallen off over the last three months. After two successful seasons with the Rockies after coming over from the Rays and lining up 2011 as another solid year, Hammel has instead thrown up a 7.24 ERA over his last 12 starts. He's shown no signs of turning it around either, with a 9.24 ERA over his last four starts, including a three-inning stinker against the Dodgers on Friday when Hammel coughed up six runs.

Alex White, who was acquired from the Indians in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in the midst of rehabbing from an injury, will make his Rockies debut by sliding into Hammel's spot on Tuesday, with Hammel headed to the bullpen.

"I worked tirelessly to figure this out," Hammel said after Friday's start to the Associated Press. "Obviously, I'm not fulfilling expectations right now. It's very disappointing to me and of course, the whole organization, too. Point the finger at me for holding this organization back right now. If we want to get going in the right direction, I need to figure it out."

Hammel, who signed a two-year, $7.75 million deal prior to the season, is in danger of losing a spot with Colorado entirely, as Troy Renck of the Denver Postsays the team will look to trade the righty after the season.

White made three starts for the Indians earlier this season, tallying up 15 innings and six earned runs. In eight total starts on the farm, four apiece for Cleveland's Triple-A club and Colorado's Double-A club on rehab, White showed he's ready for the bigs with a sterling 1.80 ERA in 40 innings, striking out 38 and walking six.